Projecting the Soul
by liuli-xia
Summary: Everything was black with an eerie green glow and the blood. Blood was dripping down the walls and off of a sign that said "Iwatodai" while a creepy yellow-green moon peered down. A train rushed through and stopped. Out stepped a teen in a high school uniform and began to walk through the station to a blood-covered bench."Welcome to the Dark Hour." SEQUEL TO WITHIN THE SEAL


_**Alright, here is number three! Souji is pretty OOC in this, mostly because I haven't gotten to very far in the game yet. Hope you enjoy it! ~Liuli Xia**_

It wasn't the strangest thing that happened, since he could go into TVs, but it was pretty close. He was used to being summoned by Igor and seeing the girl, no, woman, Margaret whenever he was summoned to the Velvet Room when he should be sleeping. He was used to finding people who had been thrown into the TV world and rescuing them. After having to fight a shadow of himself, though, he was sure that nothing could be that.

So when he saw the picture of two boys appear in the TV, he was barely surprised because it was normally one person. He just shrugged it off and he told the others to get ready. It would be twice as hard if the group had to split up to save the two but he was sure the team could do it. But he was not prepared for what happened when they went into the TV World.

Upon entering the world, Souji was on his guard as he sent three people in one direction while he and the other two went another way.. There were no shadows and that bothered him because, more than likely, they were attacking the latest victims. Without waiting for an update on the system, he motioned for the team to follow him and they charged head on into the one of the biggest shocks of their lives.

They found themselves in a train station, but it was far from ordinary. Everything was black with an eerie green glow and the blood. Blood was dripping down the walls and off of a sign that said "Iwatodai" while a creepy yellow-green moon peered down at them. Cautiously, Souji took the first step only to hear a "squelch." They all looked down to find random puddles of blood lying everywhere.

"Wh-where are we?" Chie stuttered but Souji could only shrug. Nobody could answer.

Suddenly, a train rushed through the station and stopped. Out stepped a boy in a school uniform, headphones resting on his shoulders. His blue hair fell over his eyes, hiding them, and the group couldn't tell if he was human or shadow. Slowly, he raised the headphones to cover one ear and began to walk through the station to a blood-covered bench.

"You didn't choose the dorms, Minato-kun. I thought you would since there are happier memories there." A boy in a black-and-white striped outfit appeared, a yellow scarf wrapped around his neck.

The blue haired boy shrugged. "But you know as well as I that this was the hour that everything changed, where and when everything mattered." His voice was quiet yet the Investigation Team could hear the power behind his words. Then he looked at the boy in the yellow scarf. "Who are you this time? You look and sound like Pharos but you have Ryoji's scarf."

"In this world, I am Pharos because you have summoned the Dark Hour here." Then he looked at the Team with strange two-toned blue eyes. "Minato-kun, we have guests."

He reached up and removed the headphone, then shot a sideways glance at them. Souji was taken aback at the silver eyes of the uniformed teen. Shocking silver eyes carried a look in them that only the old and wise men have. The boy looked away and motioned for them to follow.

"Welcome to the Dark Hour. Before you ask, I am not a shadow."

Pharos chuckled. "Nor am I his shadow. Rather, I am his brother."

Chie cocked her head to the side but Teddie asked the question. "If you are not a shadow, what are you? You feel like a shadow."

Pharos frowned. "I-"

The teen held up his hand and Pharos stopped. "We will be somewhere safer soon. There we will explain."

His brother nodded and a building appeared in front of them, S.E.E.S. written in red across the door. The blue-haired teen raised his hand and ran it along the wood before pushing open the door to reveal a common room with a large TV on one wall. Chie, Teddie, and Souji sat on the large red couch while Pharos sat on the arm of the chair. The nameless boy sat in the same chair as Pharos.

"Bear are we?"

The brothers exchanged glances before the teen spoke. "This is the conference room from my dorm."

Souji looked hard at the teen, sensing something off about him. "Who are you?"

The teen chuckled. "My name is Minato Arisato, and you are my successor Souji Seta. I have come here to give you advice." With a wave of his hand, Chie and Teddie froze in time. "Like you, I am a Wild Card. However, I have already completed my mission."

"Then why are you here?"

Pharos spoke. "You are not pursuing that which will make you stronger. While you have the advantage of being fully human, you are not acting as one and forming bonds."

"My brother is right, Seta-san."

"What do you mean by 'fully human'?"

Minato pursed his lips and Pharos looked down, as if ashamed. "I was born human but was not for most of my life. Pharos, the embodiment of Death lived inside me for ten years. Because of this I consider him my brother, and he considers me his."

"So then how am I not acting as a human?"

"As Pharos stated, you are not forming bonds. Not only will they help you in life but they will also help you in battle by strengthening all your Personas. It is very important. Clotho and her sisters will tell you this also when you have access to her again."

Souji's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that Persona?"

Pharos smiled at him. "Because they live with us at the Seal. Like me they have lived inside him for ten years. That is the result of death living within you."

Souji didn't speak. This teen, his supposed predecessor, had Personae living with him at this seal place. Suspicion stirred inside him. How was that possible when he could only summon twelve?

Minato stood and shared a look with Pharos who faded away. "Come. I will show you my resting place. Your friends will be safe."

Resting place? Nonetheless, he followed Minato through a golden door. On the other side, all he could see was stars and planets surrounding a grand door standing on clouds with a statue chained to it. A statue of Minato.

"This is the Seal. Here my journey has ended in order to save the world. It was my Fate to give my life for the sake of my friends. As to your journey, I do not know."

He looked to the find the teen was gone.

"Treat your Personae well and they will stay with you and your battles will fare better. They are a part of you. Do not deny them. Ask them for help and they will give. As will Igor, despite his riddles."

Minato's voice sounded from everywhere and Souji realized that the teen had gone back into the Seal.

"Don't worry," came a soft voice beside him and he looked down to see Pharos. "He is only going to sleep. He was waiting for you so he could help you. He will only sleep a while but he cannot visit you in your world anymore. Projecting his soul tired him greatly."

Understanding dawned on the silver-haired leader. "So what is the Dark Hour?"

"It was like your TV world, where shadows exist. But he and his team used guns to summon their Personae and there was no mist. Also, their Personae came to them under the force of the situation. They did not have to fight their Shadows. The place that you saw was what he lived with for ten years."

"Any person of weaker spirit would have gone insane, I'm sure."

"We saw it happen." Pharos's voice was dark as he remembered the final battle with Nyx and the events that led up to it.

Even with Souji's prodding, he refused to tell and instead summoned a TV portal. "This will take you home. All your team members are safe and sleeping with no memory of coming here tonight."

Pharos then faded away and appeared at the base of the door. Before stepping through the portal, Souji heard Pharos whispering to Minato's form.

"_Sleep well, brother. You have long earned your peace. I will be here when you wake."_


End file.
